He who has the Key of David

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens."

Revelation 3:7

Titles are descriptive and informative, but too many are cumbersome. If a formal introduction of Elizabeth Winsor was given, she'd be presented as: "Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Queen, Defender of the Faith, Duchess of Edinburgh, Countess of Merioneth, Baroness Greenwich etc. etc." Actually, the Queen has several hundred titles; if all the titles were given, it would fill several pages. Normally, however, only about a half dozen titles are given at any occasion and those are chosen as being the most appropriate for the audience. 

When the Lord addressed the small suffering church at Philadelphia, He used the titles that communicated that He had power to meet the needs. The believers there were having their outreach shut down by persecution and the opposition seemed to completely hem them in. The odds against them were so overwhelming, it was like sending a young boy to fight against a giant. 

Oh, wait a minute, I just remembered David and Goliath and that's what Jesus wanted the church of Philadelphia to remember. Christ is He who has the key of David and He can open the prison cell that believers are put in. The Lord of lords has the power to open any unlocked door and the power to intimidate a host of bullies. 

David grew up the youngest in a large, poor family, but God chose him, used him, and gave him unimaginable victory. That's important to remember at a time of great stress or opposition. Jesus is not only the Lamb of God, He is the One who has the key of David. 

Righteous Judge

Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:8

When Jesus wanted to teach His disciples about persistent prayer, He gave them the parable of an unrighteous judge (Luke 18:1-6). The man neither feared God nor men, but gave justice to a poor widow simply because her constant entreaties had become a nuisance and he wanted to get her off his back.

In modern America, it is not hard to find examples of unjust judges. Criminals are often released because of minor technicalities, and major principles of justice are superseded by lesser laws. Since right and wrong is hard to define, everything is determined by the interpretation of the law. And since the law can be viewed in different ways, a judge can execute the law and be found unrighteous before God.

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. once interrupted a freshman lawyer presenting a case, “Young man, let me remind you that this is a court of law and not a court of justice.”

Living in times like these, it is truly great to know that there is a Righteous Judge and He will hear our case. He will give the bad guys, the proud, and the unjust what they deserve, but to the faithful and true he will give a reward – the crown of righteousness. Now, I don’t know what they look like, but I do know that I want one. I also know that putting up with the injustice on Earth and waiting patiently in obedience for Christ’s return is well worth the effort to be rewarded with that heavenly garland.

Christ’s parable of the unjust judge ends with the exhortation to be persistent in prayer without giving up. He then asks His followers a question: “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).

My answer to the Lord Jesus is: “Yes, O Righteous Judge, please make me faithful until your return. I believe, please help my unbelief.”

True Light

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
John 1:9

If there is true light, there must also be false light. What is that like?

False light is light that is used to deceive. It is found in optical illusions and the tricks magicians do with smoke and mirrors. However, perhaps the greatest false light comes from the flash and sparkle of Hollywood.

Hundreds of thousands of young people have been attracted by the allure of their name in lights on a theater marquee. Being in the spotlight and having name recognition seem so desirable and important that they sacrifice everything to attain it. The sad thing is that few even do get it, and even sadder is that most who acquire the fame are unsatisfied by it.

Recently I googled "actors that committed suicide" and found a list of 227 men and 145 women who ended their own lives in despair. The sheer numbers of "successful" entertainers that had nothing to live for speaks volumes to the fatal attraction of false light.

Contrast all this to Jesus Christ, the True Light who gives light to everyone in this world. That light reveals truth - the good, the bad, and the ugly. That's a problem, because people prefer delusion over inconvenient truths. Men and women love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). They don't want to hear about sin, righteousness, or judgment and would rather that the god of this age blind them to the "light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

If a candle and a 100 watt light bulb are both burning 10 feet from each other, the candle casts the shadow. Although the world seems to glitter and glow, people need to get out of the shadows and into the True Light.

Fearful in Praises

"Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Exodus 15:11

The scene of the parting of the Red Sea in Ceal B. DeMille's epic film The Ten Commandments is one of the most famous and memorable special effects shots of classic cinematography. However, standing on the beach with the children of Israel 3,500 years ago would have been so much more impressive.

The emotional swing from the terror of fleeing from a huge Egyptian army to the elation of seeing all ones enemies totally destroyed would have been intense. Being eye witnesses of God's awesome power invoked a sense of gratitude that was spontaneously released in song: "I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” (Exodus 15:1). There must have been great joy, but also a little timidity in their voices while singing to the One who is Fearful in Praises.

If God's triumph over Egypt was awe inspiring, Christ's victory over sin, death, and hell at the cross of Calvary was even more so. Satan and his demon army were defeated forever and they never saw it coming. The awesomeness of this victory makes Christians of all centuries want to sing: 

                           When He rolls up His sleeves
                          He ain't just putting on the Ritz
                          (Our God is an awesome God)
                          There's thunder in His footsteps
                          And lightning in His fists
                         (Our God is an awesome God)
                          And the Lord wasn't joking when He kicked 'em out of Eden
                          It wasn't for no reason that He shed His blood
                          His return is very close and so you better be believing that
                          Our God is ...“Fearful in Praises”

                                                 adapted from Rich Mullings (1955-1997)

King over All the Earth

For the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.

Psalm 47:2

Scary! That's what it felt like to grow up in the early 1960's. The Cold War was at it's height; the media focused on nuclear annihilation, and Communism seemed to be an unstoppable force. Cuba exported revolution to every country in South America and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev vowed to take over the world.

That, of course never happened and sometime in the early 1990's the Soviet Union quietly dried up and blew away. Today, there are whispers about the Illuminati clandestinely taking over the planet and radical Islam would also like to take a stab at world domination. Just like emperors and despots of the past there is no end of candidates who want to attain the status of king over all the Earth.

The book of Revelation does foresee that this New World Order is coming, but it won't be the utopia that many people are hoping for. A terrible and cruel world leader that the Bible labels as "the Beast" will control the wealth and souls of the planet and witness the death of 3/4ths of the human population in a seven year period.

All opposition to the Beast will be crushed and world religions extinguished, because the Antichrist will become king over all the earth. The good news to this is that the demise of this evil world leader is just as sure as his ascension to power. When all human resistance is gone, and hopelessness grows to record proportions, the Lord of Hosts will descend from heaven with a huge army of warrior angels to defeat forever the Beast.

The real New World Order will begin. King Jesus will reign in Jerusalem and all creation will acknowledge Him as King over All the Earth.

He Who is Over All

...of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
Romans 9:5

The person who tells you what to do at work is your boss. Whoever that person answers to is your bosses boss. And whoever the CEO is accountable to is he/she who is over all.

All authority is traced back to God. Everybody is told what to do by someone else, even presidents and kings. If they don't listen to the higher ups, the same thing happens as to any incompetent employee, they get fired.

Many people see having authority as having great privilege, since those in charge seem to have higher salaries, more power, and what seems to be easier jobs. However, what is usually the case is that being the boss requires more responsibility, longer hours, and greater risks. Everybody would want the job of Chief Executive, if there were only the perks and none of the effort.

Jesus Christ is He Who is Over All. In other places, the Lord is called "Head of Every Man" (1 Corinthians 11:3) and "Head Over all Things" (Ephesians 1:22). These, of course, are impressive titles, but the are pretty much meaningless if He can't give His people consequences for their actions or rewards for a job well done,

Everyone gets called into the Big Boss' Office at the end of their shift on earth. Those who never respected, obeyed, or acknowledged their Creator must stand before Christ at the Great White Throne of Judgment. All those who never had the Spirit of Christ in them are let go - into the lake of fire.

"Believer of the month awards", crowns of righteousness, and company-owned mansions are awarded at the judgment seat of Christ to all those who have done well and were faithful. Some servants won't get much, because they never did much for Him who is Over All.

The Lord from Heaven

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:47

Adam was a home-grown hero. First man on planet Earth and was even made of earth. The Father of every human being was one for the record books, but his failures were also world-class and caused every human being after him to grow up to be a loser. 

God's Man project seemed to be going very poorly. After only ten generations, the Creator wiped the slate clean and began with a new forefather to be the root of mankind's new family tree. People after Noah were almost as bad and human history was once again filled with sin, rebellion, and violence. it was time to start over with a new business plan. Human DNA, whether it traced back to Adam or even righteous Noah, wasn't equipping people to return mankind back to fellowship with God. The new model, the Second Man, would have a definite spiritual element to Him. He wouldn't be from around here or made with local materials. He would be the Lord from heaven.

The typical stereotype of someone that is born in raised in Texas is that she or he boasts of the greatness of his or her state. If another person talks about something very nice from where they're from, the Texan interrupts to say whatever it is is bigger and better in Texas. Actually, this is not a stereotype: they are all obnoxious like that.

Anyhow,  to be from heaven, how neat is that? The Lord Jesus never made a big deal about his ethnic origin, but rather emphasized His humanity, choosing to call Himself the Son of Man. But being both God and Man, He was able to take Man's sinfulness on Himself and give mankind His righteousness. Those who came to Christ are conformed to the image of the Son of God (Romans 8:29), adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:5), and are given citizenship in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Jesus is able to do this because, after all, He is the Lord from heaven.

Gentle and Lowly in Heart

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29

Jesus could walk on water and after His resurrection, He could even go right through a locked door. He fed 5,000 men from a little boy's lunch box, calmed storms, cured incurable diseases, and raised the dead. With superpowers like that, you'd have expected both D.C. and Marvel to offer Jesus His own comic book series. Christ could have been the quintessential superhero, but He had one problem – marketing.

When Jesus healed the leper, He told the man not to tell anyone. He could have flown, turned rocks into bread, or jumped from tall buildings, but He wouldn't do any of it. True, Christ fed 5,000 poor people in the desert, but He never advertised this. He could have gotten government subsidies if he fed 5,000 soldiers or bureaucrats. The man of God lacked a public relations agent.

His power over death and disease could have made Him millions and when you factor in His ability to bring peace to a troubled heart, He could have had the world come knocking at His door.

In the verses above, Jesus offers rest to the weary and heavy laden. He offers His yoke to pull the load and supports His claims by saying “I am gentle and lowly in heart.” What kind of self-affirmation is this? No modern faith healer or tel-evangelist would ever come across so weak! And there you have the answer: The Savior of the World knew who He was, so He never needed to promote Himself. The miracles He did validated what He said, so that everyone who believed would receive His promises.

In a world full of make believe superheroes and superpowers there is still one who can do so much more and for real and He is Gentle and Lowly in Heart.

Prince of Life

But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
Acts 3:14-15

After Peter and John healed the lame man at the gate of the temple, a crowd formed, so Peter saw that it was a great opportunity to preach. Only a few months had gone by since Christ's crucifixion and the events were on everyone's minds. Peter clearly placed the guilt of rejected the Messiah on those temple goers, noting the irony that they chose a murderer to be granted life, but delivered the Prince of Life to be murdered.

Contrasting Barabbas with Jesus shows the ends of the human spectrum. Matthew calls the criminal a"notorious prisoner"; Mark says he committed "murder and rebellion", while John just notes he was a "robber". On the other hand, the Prince of Life was viewed by His enemies as a political threat and they saw that as much worse than someone who just went around stirring up trouble and killing people.

Our sinful nature can justify any form of deviant behavior. Psychologists have been shocked to discover that most criminals in prison have an extremely high self-esteems. They feel pretty good about themselves and have reasons for doing the terrible things they have done. Others, of course, buy into their lies, so every year the really notorious bad guys are acquitted of their crimes, if they have powerful lawyers and a high profile case.

When the human heart rejects the Savior and justifies its evil deeds, the trial of Jesus occurs all over again with the same results. The guilty are exonerated and the Prince of Life is condemned.

Lord of Peace

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.
2 Thessalonians 3:16

Stress-comes from rush hour traffic, crying babies, whining toddlers, ungrateful teenagers, and nagging spouses. It compounds as bills increase, the work-load becomes heavier, and the tyranny of the urgent becomes oppressive.

Anxiety - the fear of not knowing what comes next; the unease that stems from all the negatives of the status quo, and the worry that things won’t get better; they’ll only get worse. Oh-oh, here comes the panic attack.

Frustration - knowing what I want and not knowing how to get it. Sometimes it's even not knowing what I want, but knowing that, whatever it is, I don’t have it.

Depression - that sense of hopelessness, heaviness, and weariness and feeling all alone. It’s sitting for hours in a dark room and not doing anything except fighting a battle of ideas in the mind.

Nightly News - poor economy, unemployment, racial tensions, scandals, wars, terrorism, unrest in the Middle East, famines, epidemics, and this year’s storm of the century.

Humanity cries out for peace, but there is no peace. The world wants problems to go away, but that doesn’t bring peace because more problems just come to take their place.

Paul prayed that the Thessalonian church would experience the true peace that only the Lord of Peace could give. That peace would cover every category mentioned above and would last always.

The Lord Jesus wears many titles, but when all the little and big things of life get us down, we need to approach Him as the Lord of Peace. Christ gives peace to those who need it. He owns it. He’s the boss of peace. Where the Savior goes, peace has to follow.

So let stress, anxiety, frustration, and depression and the Nightly News be put on notice. If you all come around to bother us, we’re going to call directly on the Lord of Peace. 

Chosen

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.
1 Peter 2:4

The CEO of a multinational company has many complex and specialized jobs to do. He needs to have vision for building his corporation and the leadership skills to get it there. He must negotiate with clients, motivate employees, jump legal and political hurdles, and take educated risks. The success or failure of a big business depends on having the “right man” at the helm. For this reason, selection committees will often spend millions of dollars to screen all the candidates before that “right person” is finally chosen.

The hundreds of titles of Christ show just how complicated the job of God's Anointed really was. He had to be Savior, Redeemer, Advocate, and Friend. He came to destroy the works of the devil, console Israel, and willingly offer Himself as a substitute for sinful mankind. No one less than God Himself could be qualified for this position.

The Jewish religious leaders understood that their Messiah was singled out for His mission of redemption. Standing at the foot of the cross of Christ, the rulers of the Jews sneered at Jesus and said “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God" (Luke 23:35).

Only a very few of the titles of the Lord also apply to believers. This is one of them: “...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (Ephesians 1:4). How wonderful is that! Before the creation of all things, the Chosen one chose us to be His special people.

Harmless

For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, Harmless, Undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;
Hebrews 7:26

After reading verses like, “ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31), or ..."Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” (Revelation 6:16), and then coming across a description of Christ as Harmless, I want to stop and wonder, “Where did that come from?”

It all has to do with perspective. The feeling of standing before an M-1 Abrams Tank that is coming at you at full speed is very different than if you were sitting in the passenger seat of the same tank. Likewise, there is a huge difference between standing before the great white throne and standing beside it.

Titles such as “the Judge of the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1), “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6), and “Lion of Judah” (Revelation 5:5) demonstrate that the Lord of lords is to be feared. He will come and execute judgment on this speck of a universe that crucified the King of Glory. Christ rejecters be warned!

But Christ has many roles to fill and as High Priest, He intercedes for the saints. To believers who have been justified and sanctified by His blood, there is nothing to be afraid of; He is Harmless.

Human beings crucified Jesus, so collectively, we all have blood on our hands. But the blood that condemns also saves. The difference is faith. God’s grace is either received or rejected. A sinful life is either transformed or it isn’t. The Savior is either loved or despised. And on Judgment Day, Christ will either be terrifying or Harmless.

Hope of Israel

O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, Why should You be like a stranger in the land, And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?Jeremiah 14:8

Jeremiah was given a tough message to preach. God's wrath was going to fall on what was left of Judah. The nation of Israel was already completely destroyed and those in Jerusalem were soon to die of the sword, sickness, and hunger. On the one hand, 99.9% of the population was going to die, but the good news was that those who were dragged away into slavery would survive, prosper, and return to build Jerusalem up again.

God's promises are a sure thing and when the exiles saw the completion of God's judgment on the Jewish people in the Promised land, they chose to believe that the second part would be true also. God's people set themselves apart from idolatry in the land where it originated and clung to the Hope of Israel.

True hope is much more than wishful thinking; it is an expression of faith that is convinced of God's predicted outcome, even when conventional wisdom would suggest otherwise. It is the belief that God's Word is a sure thing even though the odds are stacked against you.

Today, Israel is surrounded by more than a billion enemies that have sworn to kill them. Those radicals live in the lands rich in petroleum, so they are able to buy bombs and weapons without hard work or a productive economy. The little land of Israel survives by selling fruit grown in the desert and by being on the cutting edge of technology. This is where the David and Goliath story began. But now, even the United States is turning its back on the apple of God's eye and odds have never been worse.

Jeremiah addressed the Hope of Israel as a person (i.e. the Savior). The problem is that Israel today has rejected her Messiah and with that denial has also rejected the hope God offers.

God has called on His people to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. As we do that, we also need to pray for great revival among the Jewish people that they will receive Yeshua as their Messiah and cling to the Hope of Israel. 

Wonderful

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

          This well-known “Christmas verse” contains seven important titles of Christ, most of which are unique to this passage. Perhaps the most wonderful of all is Wonderful. It’s not just my opinion of Jesus; it is one of His names.

          In a world where people pay top dollar for entertainment, production studios pay hundreds of millions of dollars to produce mediocre films. Plot and character development are not seen as important as flash and dazzle. Most movie-goers are bored if a film doesn’t have lots of pyrotechnics, sensuality, and computer-generated imagery. It takes an awful lot to impress the average American nowadays.

          These entertainment addicted individuals are usually turned off by religion and totally uninterested in the Lord Jesus Christ. Such a pity. He offers the excitement they seem to crave and can transform them in real and meaningful ways. They don’t know Him and they don’t know that He is Wonderful.

          All I can say to those who are addicted to stimulus and troubled by reality is that I can get them an appointment with a Great Counselor that can set them free from their vices. To those who think they’re all alone in their world, I’d like to introduce them to the Mighty God. To those who are afraid to die, I’d like to show them the Everlasting Father and to them who have given up on world peace, I know the Prince of Peace. Jesus is all these things and He is truly Wonderful!

Wonderful, Wonderful
          Jesus is to me
          Counselor, Prince of Peace
          Mighty God is He
          Saving me keeping me
          From all sin and shame
          Wonderful is my Redeemer
          Praise His name!
                              Haldor Lillenas (1885-1959)

Captain of Salvation

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Hebrews 2:10

For those who are not into comic books, there are lots of superheroes out there. There is Captain America but there is also Captain Britain, Captain Canuc, and Captain Universe. You can also find Captain Atom, Captain Comet, Captain Video, and Captain Marvel (a.k.a. Shazam). Calvin and Hobbs also had their own superhero they called Captain Napalm. Now we add to the list one more, the Captain of Salvation. The only difference between this one and all the others is that this superhero is real and the rest are pretend.

The Lord Jesus is a superhero in His own right. He conquered the power of sin and death and hell by dying and then rising again from the dead. He defeated His arch villain, Lucifer, crushing his demonic army. The Captain of Salvation proclaimed His power before beginning His first adventure: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18).

No one else can do what the Savior has already done “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:9,10).

Who is this guy who single-handedly rescues people form the penalty of sin? He’s the Captain of Salvation. 

Our Hope

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.
1 Timothy 1:1

Words like automobiles seem to wear out and lose their value over time. The modern definition of “hope” is very different from what it used to mean when the Bible was being written. Today, the term conveys wishful thinking, the desire for a certain thing to happen or wanting circumstances to change. One could say “I hope I win the lottery” or “Let’s hope that no one is hurt in the tornado.” People today hope for things that have no guarantee and usually the odds are greatly against getting what is hoped for.

Biblical hope is practically the opposite of contemporary hope, because it’s a sure thing. It is a feeling of trust based on the promises of God and is the object of long term faith. True hope is extreme confidence that everything God said will happen, will happen. This hope allows a Christian to remain strong in his faith even though some promises are not fulfilled in his lifetime.

“Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Romans 8:23-25).

Jesus Christ is Our Hope and all His promises are good as gold. Salvation from the power of sin and the immediate self-destruction begins now, but much of what we have to look forward to is future (i.e. home in heaven, glorified body, beholding the glory of God, etc.). Jesus said that there will be trials and persecutions and they certainly have come and they give credence that the rest of His promises will also be fulfilled. If Christ came to this world to die in our place, all the other promises are not that hard for Him to perform (Romans 8:32), so the Lord becomes Our Hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). 

Alive Forevermore

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Revelation 1:18

I’m not really into computer games, but I do know people who are addicted to them. One particularly dangerous game is Candy Crush. The idea is that as candy appears on the screen, the good stuff is collected with a flick of the thumb without touching poison; that will kill you. But not to worry, you’re given five lives.

Technically, the game is free. The iPad app is free, playing time is free, and additional lives are free. The loophole comes in the fact that, if someone loses his five lives, there is a waiting period of one half an hour before he can get another life. Since lives come five at a time, that means being offline two and one half hours. That seems like an awful long time when a player is almost to the next level, so for just 99 cents automatically billed to the credit card, the gaming addict can continue without the distraction of returning to reality.

One man was billed $236 in one month for all those extra lives, and another man literally ruptured a tendon in his thumb for playing “Crush” non-stop for days at a time. (He needed surgery to regain use of his hand). People will pay a lot to continue to live just a little longer in their own fantasy world, but they always die again and again.

People would pay millions to get another physical life, if that was for sale, but they would still just die again another day.

Jesus lives and was dead. But that’s not the amazing part. He conquered death, drained it of its power, and is Alive Forevermore.

If medical science could stop the aging process and find a cure for every disease that exists, everyone would still die someday. The good news is that true life is not found in our feeble bodies; it’s found in our souls and spirits. Christ came to this world to bring us life in abundance. Eternal life begins now, gets better every day, and lasts forever. Even when the body breaks down and is buried, we, through the Savior, can be alive forevermore.

Stone Cut Out without Hands

You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
Daniel 2:34

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon struck terror in the hearts of his subjects and all those in the neighboring countries around him. His word was law and his laws weren’t always rational. One night the king had a disturbing dream, but by morning he couldn’t remember a thing, so he called all his wise men and magicians. “You guys are supposed to be smart,” Nebu said, “Tell me what my dream was!”

When no one in the national think tank could do what the king commanded, he went into a rage and ordered the execution of all his advisers. A young, Jewish captive, named Daniel, had just started interning for the wise men when he found out that he was also scheduled to die. Concerned about his future, Daniel asked God to fill him in on the dream, so that night, the Lord gave him the same vision as He gave to the king.

Daniel then related to Nebuchadnezzar what he saw in his dream. There was a huge statue made with parts of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay, but an even greater stone cut out without hands fell from heaven and ground down the awesome image into powder.

The king also heard the interpretation of the dream. Babylon was the golden head of the statue, which meant it was the richest and greatest. Lesser kingdoms would follow one after another and each would have less glory than the one it replaced. The young eunuch then explained the pulverizing stone: “Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold [---] the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this" (Daniel 2:45). All the great empires of the world will come to nothing by the power of God.

Egypt once ruled the world. Now, it’s a big sand box. Babylon the Great lies desolate and uninhabited in the desert. Greece is bankrupt, Rome is a tourist trap, and the Soviet Union has ceased to exist. Even the greatness and power of the United Sates is waning in the shadow of the Stone cut out without hands, the Lord Jesus Christ.

King of the Saints

They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
Revelation 15:3

          Since Jesus is the blessed and only Potentate, King of kings, and Lord of lords, He rules over many diverse people and nations. He’s the King of Israel, King of Righteousness, King of Peace, and King over all the Earth. But there is one distinction that really gets me excited. Christ the Lord is King of the Saints; He’s going to be my monarch!

          When Christ was on earth, enemy soldiers gave Him a crown of thorns, mocked Him for being a king, and then spit on His face. Since then, He was caught up to glory and believers  through the centuries have also suffered abuse as they waited for the return of the King of the Saints.

          Ten terrible Roman persecutions fell on the faithful; some were crucified, some burned alive, and some fed to wild beasts. Still, they waited for their Lord’s return. The rise of Mohammed in the seventh century brought Jihad, beheadings, and slavery to Christians who longed for their coming King. Then the crusades, inquisition, and the rise of Communism brought more torture, imprisonment, and death for the saints. Still, they waited for their sovereign to come and bring peace.

          The signs of the Lord’s soon return are becoming more evident every day. Terrorism clearly demonstrates “wars and rumors of war” that fill every corner of the planet. Talk of a new world order as well as one global community and government prepares the way for the Anti-Christ and his minions.

          The good news is that this may be the last persecution. If the blood-bought disciples of Christ can overcome one more reign of terror, then it’s over. Jesus is coming and those who served and suffered for the Lord will reign with Him. Hallelujah!

          Even so come, O King of the Saints.

True God

…That we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
1 John 5:20

          The Lord Jesus is the True God which is something that true believers already know. However, to even need a title like this concludes the existence of fake gods that would deceive people allowing them to usurp the position of the True God.

          In modern society it’s anathema (an evil) to suggest that someone else’s religion is really a lie. For many, it is preferable to allow someone to go to hell unchallenged, than to risk the chance of them becoming offended.

          Recently, a kindergarten student was sent home from class because he was having an asthma attack. Unfortunately, he died in the hospital a few hours later. Before school the next day, the principal called a teachers meeting to discuss talking points concerning discussing the child’s death with students. If a teacher was to be asked, “Is he in heaven now?” or other religious questions, teachers were instructed to say “something non-denominational” such as, “Everyone has different ideas and beliefs about what happens when we die. We don’t really know what 'Johnny' (not his real name) and his family believe, but he was a good person.”

          How sad! At a very teachable moment, Christian teachers are forbidden to discuss anything about heaven and faith with students. With many years of experience in public education, I’ve seen repeatedly that it’s only the Christian teachers that follow the rules and do what they are told to do. Many atheist and agnostic teachers do what they jolly well please and don’t follow guidelines that they don’t like. It is rules like these that try to discourage any discussion of the True God. The lie that anything anyone could ever choose to believe is valid has become the official doctrine of modern society. To believe that only the Lord Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life cannot be allowed or tolerated by the establishment, even if He is the True God.